There is a word, originally of French derivation: élan. That word captures well the people and the atmosphere at this year’s week-long YPAT program, which concluded on Monday, July 1 in Campion College, Sydney. Élan conveys a sense of fresh energy, confident style and a certain flair…
In the New Testament, the Greek word oikia is used to encompass several important social realities. The word can mean dwelling place but it also captures the immediate context of our social belonging; our household along with its cultural and religious matrix. The term reaches…
I played an amusing game with the AI (artificial intelligence) search function on my computer yesterday. I asked the ghosts of the ether a bland question: “What is the role of G.K. Chesterton?” About a quarter of a minute later the nifty little digital elves…
I have a vivid and decades-old memory of this day: the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians. It is of a plain parish school hall with bare floorboards and hard seats. A whole school of primary children heave to their collective feet, enthusiastically billowing…
The month of April and May in Western Australia are important for pro-lifers as this is when the prayer vigils during Lent commence and when abortion was legalised in WA. In keeping with this theme, the Thomas More Centre in Perth decided to focus their…
On Tuesday this week, I was very honoured to be invited to speak with the newly formed young women’s discussion group that met at Campion College in Sydney. We unpacked the lapidary term, “the culture of life”, first coined by Pope St John Paul II…
In 1994, Pope John Paul II was everywhere. In this year, he shored up his work on the nature of moral theology from the year before, evangelised on the dignity of the person, established diplomatic relations with Israel and underlined the importance of the family…
There is a sense of national and personal shock around Australia this week. Six people (five women and a man) and their attacker at the Bondi Junction knife attack are dead. Each death, including that of the disturbed attacker, sends ripples of tragedy into their…
“For if you do not understand a man you cannot crush him. And if you do understand him, very probably you will not.” (Gilbert Keith Chesterton, Humanitarianism and Strength, c. 1908) This telling comment, like so many by G.K. Chesterton, comes from an article invariably…
Unfortunately, we don’t have Anna writing our newsletter this week. Many of you have written to say how much you enjoy her reflections, and we hope to publish them all on a blog soon. In the meantime, if you’d like to access any of the…